Calcutta, March 14: A delegation under the aegis of the Consultative Committee of Plantation Associations — the apex body of tea producers’ associations — will visit Darjeeling this week to initiate talks with the labour wing of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha to end the deadlock over wage negotiations.

The Morcha has imposed an embargo on the despatch of the first flush of Darjeeling tea, demanding higher emoluments for garden workers. “The future of Darjeeling tea is at stake here. Business is being severely affected. We will meet the concerned union and explain to them the ground reality and convince them to lift the embargo on the despatch of tea. The exact date of the meeting is yet to be finalised and the CCPA secretariat will now take a call on this,” said Sanjay Bansal, chairman of the Darjeeling Tea Association.

Siliguri: Custom officials seized smuggled goods worth around Rs 3 lakh from several buses across the town on Monday. Officials said all Siliguri-bound vehicles from Kharibari, Naxalbari and Panitanki, all on the India-Nepal border, were raided. Smuggled garments and electrical goods were among the seized items. No arrests have been made yet.

Dalkhola: Bidhan Chhetri, 25, was killed after he fell from a moving train at Dalkhola on Monday. GRP officials said the resident of Siliguri slipped while trying to get off from the Awadh Assam Express. The train went over him. He was taken to the Islampur subdivisional hospital, where he succumbed to injuries.

Siliguri: The 15609 Awadh Assam Express between Guwahati and Lalgarh has been cancelled for March 16, said the officials of the Northeast Frontier Railway on Monday. The train has been cancelled because of the ongoing agitation on the tracks in Rajasthan and Haryana under the Northern Railway and the North Western Railway the officials said.